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Senior Community Liaison
Member Since Apr 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10,520
17 4,341 hugs
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#1
I'm really wanting to build my credit. cause i want a credit card lol.. it suxs not having one. I had a checking account for the longest time and had a visa debit card which worked just like a visa credit card for things. but my credit score i found out today is 561 and i was refused one credit card because it was insufficient amount of credit. i guess that means i'm no credit? I have a payee now, so i dont have my checking account any more. and miss having that card to use.
It seems like i'm stuck in this crazy cycle of - i want credit- need credit to get credit- need a cosigner- dont have a cosigner- etc.. and i only get $8,000-ish a year through ssi for disability (different than ssdi), so i dont have the money to add to these high priced type of cards) I've also tried prepaid cards, but none of them work with places that require a credit card that isn't prepaid (such as gamefly, netflix, xbox, etc.) . How do i build credit, if i can't ever get a chance to do that, because they require me to have credit first before i can build more on it. ? __________________ .........
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Member
Member Since Oct 2012
Location: Toronto
Posts: 316
12 115 hugs
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#2
Unfortunately the credit card system doesn't make sense like that. You need to have built up good credit in order for them to provide one for you. I had a lot of trouble getting my first credit card for that reason. However, in most cases, they'll give a credit card to someone who they know is making a fair chunk of money each year, something like 20,000 would suffice.
For you, since you've already got a bad credit score, and also because you are on disability, the likelihood of a bank giving you a credit card is low. I think the best way to do it though, if you haven't already, is to go into a bank in person and ask to apply for a credit card. For some reason it's much easier that way than it is if you try to apply online. |
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Moderator
Community Support Team Member Since Mar 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 11,517
18 79 hugs
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#3
Up here in Canada we have what are called secured credit cards, that are different from prepaid credit cards. You have to put up a security deposit that the bank holds in a trust account, and the amount you put up is the limit on your card. So say you give the bank $1,000, then the limit on the card is $1,000. In all other aspects it's a totally normal credit card, that you charge stuff to, and have to pay every month. They're a good way for people with no or poor credit to get a credit card. And if you pay it off every month, then it help builds your credit score.
When I went for my mandatory credit counselling after my bankruptcy last year, I was told to apply for a secured credit card, as soon as I got a job, so that I could start rebuilding my credit rating. splitimage |
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Grand Member
Member Since Mar 2013
Location: South
Posts: 982
11 138 hugs
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#4
yeah get a secured credit card.
Bank held my 500 dollars and gave me 500 credit limit. In a year of using my credit card for everything vs using cash or debt and paying back the charges immediately I built up credit. got my 500 dollars back. Then I applied for anther card and got a 7,000 dollar limit unsecured. __________________ This can't be life. |
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Pandita-in-training
Member Since Sep 2006
Location: Maryland
Posts: 27,289
(SuperPoster!)
18 550 hugs
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#5
I would add a little bit of money at a time to a PayPal account until you had a few hundred dollars (say $25 a month saved for a year), then start to buy online stuff yet keep putting the same amount of money in every month (like you would pay on a credit card) and after a couple years, apply for a PayPal Visa credit card (it's good online and off).
You could do the same offline; open a Bank of America savings account and put $25 in a month, then use the money for a secured credit card, etc. like jesusplay did. __________________ "Never give a sword to a man who can't dance." ~Confucius |
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Account Suspended
Member Since Nov 2013
Location: San Deigo
Posts: 1,154
10 14 hugs
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#6
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